Last updated October 2026
Pakowhai is a small rural settlement in Hastings District, on the flat Heretaunga Plains between the lower Tūtaekurī and Ngaruroro rivers. Houses sit mainly along Pakowhai Road and Gilligan Road, with horticulture and pastoral farming on the fertile alluvial soils around them.
Hastings District Council’s Farndon Heritage Trail glosses the name as Home of the Kowhai, after the pā that once stood on this floodplain.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council uses the macron form Pākōwhai for the regional park and for flood-protection work here. Many visitors know the area for that park, a country-style reserve on the old course of the Ngaruroro, locally called the dog park.
Official Locality Facts
- Population (2023 Census)
- About 220, down 26% since 2018
- Land area
- 18.02 km²
- Location
- 7.3 km north of central Hastings
- Council
- Hastings District Council
- Ward or local board
- Heretaunga General Ward, and Takitimu Māori Ward for the Māori electoral roll
- Getting there
- Pakowhai Road is the main route, linking west to State Highway 2 and east toward Whakatu via Te Ara Kahikatea Drive and the roundabout at the regional park. Brookfields Bridge crosses the Tūtaekurī River and Pakowhai Bridge crosses the Ngaruroro River.
- Schools
- Pakowhai School, a state primary school
- Nearby landmarks
- Pākōwhai Regional Park; the cemetery on Farndon Road marking the site of Pakowhai Pā; the 1940 Pakowhai Road bridge, now a walk and cycle link over the Raupare Stream; Pākōwhai War Memorial Hall
Who Lives in Pakowhai
About 220 residents in 10 households. From the 2023 Census, with the New Zealand figure alongside for comparison.
In Pakowhai
Places and businesses inside the official Pakowhai boundary.
Places
About Pakowhai
Pakowhai is a floodplain settlement, and that setting shapes how people live here. Stopbanks stand between the land and the adjoining rivers. During Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023, breaches in the stopbanks of the Tūtaekurī and the Ngaruroro sent floodwater across the area, in places to significant depth.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s Pākōwhai flood resilience project adds a second line of defence along the Tūtaekurī-Waimate Stream, including new stopbank and flood-wall works, so that if the main river stopbanks are overwhelmed there is more time to get people out.
The council states that this extra protection is designed around a flood with a 1-in-100 chance of happening in any year, using post-cyclone modelling, and that no stopbank system removes the risk of an extreme event.
The land is essentially flat. Horticulture and pastoral farming dominate, a pattern that goes back to the orchards planted along Pakowhai Road in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The Farndon Heritage Trail treats this stretch as one of the original fruit-growing districts of Hawke’s Bay. Shelter belts, packing sheds and working blocks still give the drive a plains character rather than a suburban one.
Before the orchards, this was a Māori settlement. The heritage trail says Taraia built a pā here after sailing across Hawke Bay and up the Ngaruroro River.
In 1850 it was the home of the chief Puhara and the site of the first Catholic mission in the Ahuriri district. French missionaries under his protection laid out vineyards and cultivations and taught farming.
The mission ended after Puhara was killed in the Battle of Pakiaka, near Whakatu, and his people moved away. A cemetery on Farndon Road marks the pā site.
The same trail names Ngāti Hori, Ngāti Hawea, Ngāti Hinemoa and Ngāti Toaharapaki among the hapū with ancestral ties to this part of the plains, with marae at Kohupatiki, Ruahapia, Matahiwi and Waipatu.
River engineering later redrew the map. The 1931 earthquake changed land levels, and a diversion of the Tūtaekurī was completed in 1936. In the 1960s the Chesterhope diversion sent the Ngaruroro down a constructed channel, leaving the old bed to the Raupare Stream.
The rivers and their stopbanks now join toward the eastern end of Pakowhai. What remains is a quiet rural settlement: a school, a war memorial hall, working farms, and a regional park used by people from Hastings and Napier.
History and Heritage
The Farndon Heritage Trail, a Hastings District Council driving and cycling route, is the clearest public account of Pakowhai’s past. It starts the Pakowhai chapter at the cemetery on Farndon Road, which marks Pakowhai Pā. Treat the cemetery as a burial ground and keep to a respectful visit.
Pakowhai Road itself is part of the orcharding story. The trail describes it as one of the original fruit-growing areas of Hawke’s Bay, with family orchards established from the late nineteenth century. A centenary record places the opening of Pakowhai School in 1895. The school still serves the settlement as a state primary.
The old Pakowhai Road bridge, completed in December 1940, spans what was the Ngaruroro and is now the Raupare Stream. The Chesterhope diversion made it redundant for road traffic. It remains as a pedestrian and cycle link beside Pākōwhai Regional Park, and it is a stop on the heritage trail.
Getting Outdoors
The standout public space is Pākōwhai Regional Park, owned by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. Access is off the two-lane roundabout on Pakowhai Road, about 5 kilometres north of Hastings; the council asks drivers to use the outside lane.
Established in 1973, it is the smallest of the regional parks and one of the most used. About two kilometres of paths cross the Raupare Stream on small bridges, through specimen trees, a pine plantation, open grass, wetlands and stopbanks. Some paths are steep or rough and are not suitable for every pram or wheelchair.
Locals call it the dog park. Dogs may be off lead in the open space, and an agility course sits near the centre. Owners must keep dogs under full control. Karaka trees in the park produce berries that are highly toxic to animals between January and April.
Facilities include paved parking, picnic tables, a composting toilet and water. Take rubbish away, and lock vehicles. The Hawke’s Bay Trails meet the park, so the stopbank can be part of a longer ride. This is a day reserve beside a working flood-control scheme, not a swimming beach.
Getting Around
Pakowhai Road is the spine of the settlement. Westward it meets State Highway 2. Eastward, Te Ara Kahikatea Drive forms the Whakatu link, with a roundabout at the regional park entrance.
Brookfields Bridge carries traffic over the Tūtaekurī River, and Pakowhai Bridge crosses the Ngaruroro River. Day-to-day travel is by car, bike or on foot. Cyclists can join the Hawke’s Bay Trails at the regional park and follow the stopbank.
There is no town centre to walk to for errands. The settlement reads as a rural road corridor: houses, a school, a hall, orchards and the park, with Hastings a short drive south for shops and services.
Near Pakowhai
Just outside Pakowhai, within 10 km of its centre, nearest first.
Places
Businesses
Where to Learn More
Farndon Heritage Trail: Hastings District Council brochure covering Pakowhai Pā, the old bridge and the orcharding landscape.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council: Pākōwhai Regional Park: Official access notes, facilities and dog-safety advice for the country park.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council: Pākōwhai flood resilience: What the stopbank and flood-wall project is designed to do after Cyclone Gabrielle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Pakowhai?
Pakowhai is a rural settlement in Hastings District, on the Heretaunga Plains between the lower Tūtaekurī and Ngaruroro rivers, a short drive north of Hastings.
Is Pakowhai a city suburb?
No. It is a rural settlement in Hastings District, with houses clustered along the roads and horticulture and pastoral farming around them, rather than a built-up urban suburb.
What does the name Pakowhai mean?
The Farndon Heritage Trail glosses Pakowhai Pā as Home of the Kowhai. Hawke’s Bay Regional Council uses the spelling Pākōwhai for the regional park and flood works.
Was Pakowhai flooded in Cyclone Gabrielle?
Yes. In 2023, stopbank breaches on the Tūtaekurī and Ngaruroro inundated the settlement, in places to significant depth. Hawke’s Bay Regional Council is adding a second line of flood defence along the Tūtaekurī-Waimate Stream. That work reduces risk; it does not remove it.
Can I take my dog to Pākōwhai Regional Park?
Yes. Dogs are permitted off lead, and there is an agility course, but they must stay under full control. Karaka berries in the park are highly toxic to animals between January and April. Waste bags and bins are provided.
Is the regional park suitable for wheelchairs?
Not throughout. Hawke’s Bay Regional Council notes that some paths are steep or rough and may be difficult for prams and wheelchairs. Parking, picnic tables, a composting toilet and water are at the park.
Is there a school in Pakowhai?
Yes. Pakowhai School is a state primary school in the settlement. A centenary record places its opening in 1895.
Where do residents shop?
Pakowhai has no town centre or supermarket of its own. Everyday shopping and most services are in Hastings, a short drive south along Pakowhai Road.
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Explore Hastings only lists suburbs officially recognised by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), and Pakowhai is one of them. Suburb boundary: LINZ, CC BY 4.0.